In case you missed it, here’s what happened when a group of people turned up to lodge police reports in Brickfields yesterday, courtesy of Malaysiakini.
Malaysia’s economy takes a dive
Uh-oh, the bottom’s fallen out Source: Statistics Department
Ringgit weakens against the US dollar and Yen
Buckle up, folks! We are in for some tough times.
Malaysia’s economy took a dive in the fourth quarter as GDP stood on the brink of negative territory, growing by just by 0.1 per cent, compared to 4.7 per cent in the third quarter.
Perak Speaker calls for emergency sitting on 3 March
Perak Speaker V Sivakumar calls for an emergency sitting of the state assembly Photo by KK
The emergency sitting is to vote on two motions: to affirm support for Nizar as the MB and to seek a dissolution of the state assembly, paving the way for fresh polls.
Nationalise the Malaysian highways
So the government has put off the highway toll hike to the end of the year.
But before you rejoice, think about this: the government will have to pay RM287m in compensation to the concessionaires:
- Plus – RM195m
- Sprint – RM36m
- Akleh – RM27m
- Besraya – RM9m
- NPE – RM20m
That’s our money going straight into the concessionaires’ pockets. Easy money for doing nothing.
By the way, Plus Expressways Berhad made a profit before tax of RM1.5 billion for the year ended 31 December 2008 – up from RM1.3 billion the previous year.
Inflation lower but food prices remain high
Source: Statistics Department, Malaysia
Inflation may have dropped to 3.9 per cent in January 2009 in line with the fall in consumer demand and the end of the commodity price bubble. But even though the agriculture commodity bubble has burst, food prices remain high with the consumer price index showing a 9.8 per cent rise in January for food. (The food and non-alcoholic beverages component contributes over 80 per cent of the 3.9 per cent rise in the CPI index.) Imagine, the index for rice, bread and other cereals has shot up by 18 per cent.
Disgraceful scenes in Parliament lobby
The ruckus in the Parliament lobby where a group of angry Umno Youth supporters confronted Karpal this afternoon was disgraceful.
DAP MP for Segambut Lim Lip Eng alleged that he was assaulted and hit a number of times on the face and his body.
This incident reveals a breach of parliamentary security. Why did DAP MPs have to come to Karpal’s rescue? What happened to the security personnel on duty?
Singapore sinks deeper into recession
The Singapore economy shrank 4.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008 despite posting an annual growth of 1.1 per cent for last year.
For 2009, the Ministry of Trade and Industry is maintaining its forecast of minus 2-5 per cent, though others think it could be more than minus 5 per cent if the global economy worsens.
The IMF is projecting a global recovery next year – but that looks more than a little optimistic, perhaps wishful thinking. Truth be told, no one knows for sure how long this worldwide depression will last – certainly not the so-called economists who never saw all this coming 18 months ago. Any recovery is unlikely to be quick as the biggest consumers in the world by far are in the United States – and we all know they are in deep trouble.
Snapshots from Bukit Gantang
A small white elephant in Bukit Gantang? – Photos by Jong
You have seen them dotted all over the country. Small projects which never really take off after construction. The amounts involved may be small – but they all add up. Who really benefits from all these small white elephants?
MACC grills Perak Speaker for three hours
First, they put the pressure on Selangor MB Khalid.
Now, it’s the turn of Perak Speaker V Sivakumar to feel the heat. He was questioned by the MACC for three hours last night for alleged abuse of power probably in relation to the suspensions of BN state assembly members.
Meanwhile, Nazri informed Parliament yesterday that the ACA had opened four investigation papers into the Lingamtape affair. Three of these were sent to the Attorney General, who classified two under “no further action” while the remaining one was still awaiting further investigation. The fourth paper is still with the ACA.
Growing old with Streamyx
It’s not just the economy that has slowed down. The local broadband service is now crawling at a snail’s pace.
For almost a week, we have been hearing complaints from many Streamyx users. Now we know why, or at least this is the official reason: cable/circuit problem with the US.
But why are local websites also slow? And why did it take TM so long to announce this? Have Singapore and other Asean countries encountered similar slowdowns?
Says blog reader syauki_x in Indonesia:
I’m writing this from Bandung, Indonesia…
I didn’t even know there was such a thing as cable/circuit problem with the US, until I read your entry…
The net connection here is just as normal as it gets…
Buck up, TM!
No one talks about the MSC anymore. Meanwhile, we will all grow old waiting for pages to download.